Avon Wesleyan Church

AVON WESLEYAN CHURCH – STRATEGIC VISION PICTURE

Mission: What are we called to do?
Invite everyone into a Connected Life with Christ

Vision: 

Our Values:

Why are we motivated to this mission?

Christ First.

Because Christ loves us, we will love Him above all things.

Family Matters.

Because God created the family as a reflection of who He is, we will care for &  build-up families.

Actions Speak.

Because God’s actions spoke so clearly, our actions will speak so clearly of Him.

Big Picture.

Because God is redeeming His entire creation, we will join His work.

YOU Belong.

Because Christ invites us into His family, we will invite others to belong.

Our Strategy:

How do we accomplish this mission?

• Connect others with God

• Connect with Others

• Connect with God

Our Measures: (When are we successful?)

What does a connected life look like?

Listens to God.

Intentionally sets aside time, individually & corporately, to listen to God through reading scripture, prayer, & worship.

Leans on Others.

Purposefully engages in a church community to find accountability, support, & friendship.

Thinks We, not Me.

Generous with time, talents, & resources.

Loves through Action.

Joins the church in loving & serving others by meeting needs.

Shares Faith.

Prays for & pursues opportunities to share faith & invite others into the church community.

Connect with God – Worship.

• Our roots in God deepen through rhythms & patterns of immersing ourselves in God’s Word in both, personal and gathered ways.

• “Blessed is the one… whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” Psalm 1.1-2

• “25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” Heb 10.25

• “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Col 3.1–2

Connect with Eachother – Discipleship.

• We find belonging, strength, & the power to grow through an ongoing commitment to a discipling group or relationship.

• “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Heb 3.12-13

• “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love…” Eph 4.16

Connect others with God – Mission.

• Deepening our roots in God’s word & growing in community produces fruit in us, leading each of us to help others follow Jesus.

• “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit…” Jn 15.5

• “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors…” 2 Cor 5.20

Vivid Description.

Family.  No one gets to choose theirs. Not everyone even has one. Nonetheless, we are all created for family. And yet, how many of us have experienced the brokenness that comes with family? The son longing for time from an absent dad. The mom who did everything right and is still losing a teenager to drug abuse. The husband and wife who want to live happily ever after, but can’t even eat dinner together without getting into an argument.

We are all wounded by the brokenness of our world. And we are all in need of a family to walk alongside us in our brokenness. God’s family is made of people like this, those who have experienced brokenness but are being healed by God’s love, a love that brings unlikely people together to live and grow alongside each other.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells a story about a broken family.  A son, who in an act of selfishness, walks away from his family, and experiences the wounds and brokenness that follow.  But in an act of pure, unexpected love, the Father welcomes the son home, unconditionally forgives him, tells him he belongs and restores him from his brokenness.

We are a church made up of lost sons and daughters, yet God in his perfect love has called us home and told us we belong. We are a family of people who have failed and disappointed, but together we are being made new and whole.  As we continue to grow in this family as children of God, our hearts begin to take the shape of our Father’s heart.

Avon Wesleyan Church is committed to being like our Father.  Like our Father, we will be on the lookout for lost sons and daughters and anticipate their return home. Like our Father, we will set our pride aside to run toward those who are broken and disconnected.  Like our Father, we will give people more than what they ask for or what they think they deserve.  Like our Father, we will hold nothing or no one back; all are welcome and all belong.

By the year 2025, Avon Wesleyan Church will be a church that looks like the Father, a family of adopted sons and daughters, committed to seeking those in the midst of brokenness and disconnection to help them, to love them, and to say, “you belong.”

What it's like living in the area

AVON WESLEYAN CHURCH – LOCAL CHURCH PROFILE

Ministries

Children. 

At Avon Wesleyan Church we know that our children are the future leaders of our church and our community. Enriching our children with the truth of Christ through Biblical teaching is our first priority, and the best way to do this is by teaching the word in a fun and easily understandable, and relatable way. We believe in intergenerational worship where all ages are connected within church ministries.

Youth. 

Student Ministries is our next step in preparing our teenagers to be faithful followers of Christ and future church leaders. The mission of Avon Wesleyan is for 6th-12th grade students to gather together and regularly worship God, grow in relationship with God and each other, and go out and serve the local community! Our Student Ministries meets weekly at Wednesday nights WELL for our weekly worship and Bible study along with our various events that happen throughout the year.

Young Adult.

Adult.

Avon Wesleyan knows that it is essential for adults to be in community together. This is why we offer numerous ministries to reach adults with different interests and needs such as the following: small groups, prayer ministry, care ministry, and classics….

Men.

Men grow spiritually when they regularly come together, building and challenging each other to be more like Jesus. At AWC the men’s group gathers weekly at the WELL. They also gather regularly throughout the year for special events like our Targets and Teamwork event at our 4 Corners property.

Women.

Women of all ages are invited to join an authentic Christ-centered community of women at AWC. Avon Wesleyans women's group meets weekly at the WELL and have many special events planned during the year, like art nights and kayaking trips during the summer.

Worship Arts.

We gather as an intergenerational community in the name of Jesus to connect with God through gospel-centered preaching and worship. We mix classic and contemporary worship styles to prepare our hearts and minds to connect with God.

Media, Tech & Broadcast.

Living in a culture immersed in technology, we utilize graphics, music, computers, lighting, and video live streaming in creative ways as tools for expanding Avon Wesleyans' ability to teach the Gospel and reach our community and beyond.

Outreach & Missions.

We have many opportunities to love and bless our community in the name of Jesus, such as stocking our food pantry with annual canned goods drives, our annual Service Sunday, Vacation Bible School, Art Camps, Avon Corn Festival, Annual Live Nativity at 4 Corners, Wednesday Nights at the WELL and more. In these and other ways, people serve and engage the needs of the lost in our community. We are also committed to equipping and training our congregation to share their faith as we look for opportunities to open our ministries to the community.  

The Avon Wesleyan Missions Team also goes on an annual missions trip to Guatemala with Impacto Ministries and supports **** missionaries that are currently in the field to aid in furthering the Kingdom of Christ.

Pastor Profile

AVON WESLEYAN CHURCH – LEAD PASTOR PROFILE

Personal Qualities

1. A committed and mature follower of Jesus Christ with a consistent and deep life of prayer and time in God’s Word that is continuously growing and developing.
2. Demonstrates a personal passion and commitment for evangelism, outreach, and discipleship with evidence in their personal life.
3. If married, must be deeply committed to family and maintain healthy boundaries on behalf of the family.
4. If unmarried, live a virtuous life according to God’s biblical plan.
5. Values people and relationships, a compassionate person.
6. Someone who lives out their theology in daily life.

Professional Qualities

1. Alignment with Wesleyan theology.
2. Has a sound theological education and is ordained in the Wesleyan Church or an acceptable denomination as approved by the Penn-York District Superintendent.
3. Excellent record of leadership success in the church, preferably as a Lead Pastor.
4. Strongly recommend the candidate has served a minimum of 3-5 years in a local church and has been responsible for overseeing multiple staff positions and volunteer ministry leaders.

Pastoral Qualities and Roles

Enthusiastic Alignment with the Avon Wesleyan Church’s Mission and Core Value. It is essential that the pastor is excited and in alignment with the stated Mission of the Avon Wesleyan Church to “Invite everyone into a Connected Life with Christ.”  Must work to clearly establish the church's Vision in the minds of the congregation and staff.  The pastor must also whole-heartedly believe in, and lead in, the practice of the stated core values in support of the Vision and Mission, ensuring balance in the key areas of worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism.

Effective Preacher/Teacher. Must fully embrace the Bible as the Word of God.  The pastor should be able to clearly and passionately communicate biblical truth through sermons that connect with believers and non-believers.  Must be committed to staying culturally relevant while remaining biblically true.

People Person: relates intentionally to people. It is important that the pastor is effective at interacting with people and has a strong EQ.  (Note: Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to positively understand, use, and manage your own emotions to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict.) The pastor should clearly seek to build and invest in relationships, especially with the people the pastor is responsible for leading, including the staff, the board, and volunteer ministry leaders.  While it is important for the pastor to accomplish many tasks, the pastor should be a “people first” person and would need to have a compassionate, shepherd’s heart.

Reliable: faithful to commitments. The church leadership, in addition to the congregation as a whole, views the pastor as faithful to commitments and decisions.  The pastor should be someone who can be relied upon to have deep integrity.

Community Engagement. This person will be a relational leader who thrives in partnership development and intentional community engagement. They will have a natural gift for networking and communicating the vision of the church to the community as well as investing in, and building partnerships with, local churches, businesses, and local government. They will be Kingdom-oriented and value unity over uniformity.

Competent in Facing Challenges and Conflict. The pastor should be faithful, dependable, and even-keeled in challenging times.  They should be able to lead a church into healing and full health where needed.  Tough conversations, including addressing conflict, should be managed in a timely manner with grace and kindness, speaking the truth in love.

Demonstrates Dependence on the Holy Spirit. The pastor must demonstrate an eagerness to invite the Holy Spirit to be released in great power and demonstrate an eagerness to depend on the leadership of the Holy Spirit in leading the ministry of the church.

Leadership Qualities and Roles

Leader. The Pastor has demonstrated strong organizational leadership skills. This is evidenced by leading and equipping the board, guiding the staff, overseeing church finances, and casting vision for the church. The pastor is also committed to leadership development in others.

Staff Leadership. Must have experience effectively leading a multi-person staff.  This will be demonstrated by the ability to direct staff, form a cohesive team, empower staff in the execution of their responsibilities, and guide staff to develop their personal areas of giftedness. Considerable effort should be made to invest in the staff through listening, encouragement, prayer, and mentoring to strengthen them as they minister directly to the congregation.

Consensus Building: A leader who will form, equip, and lead teams of leaders. The pastor will equip the staff, the board, other leaders in the church, and the congregation in a collaborative spirit.  The pastor should be able to lead assertively and yet demonstrate flexibility within reasonable boundaries to achieve “ownership” from the teams in an effort to achieve common goals.

Effective Communicator: Communicates in a compelling manner. The pastor must be able to communicate clearly and passionately, both written and verbally, to large and small audiences.  Communication should be timely and informative.  Feedback should be solicited regularly so communications can be corrected or repeated as needed. Communication with the staff, the leadership of the church, and the congregation concerning Vision and future direction should be motivating so that people want to be part of where the church is going.

Follow Through:  Carrying tasks to completion. Working closely with the Administrative Assistant, the Lead Pastor must ensure that follow-through happens on decisions, promises, and commitments that are made.  It is not expected that the pastor personally carries those tasks to completion, but it is necessary that the pastor recognizes the need for follow-through and oversees the staff and church leaders in an efficient manner.

Courageously Opportunistic. The pastor must be willing to try new and innovative things, take obedient risks, test new waters, and go after the mission in creative and yet responsible ways.  This should be done in the context of being a consensus-building leader and also as a networker with peers outside the church to leverage the collective wisdom of others facing similar opportunities. All these tools should be used to fuel the growth strategy of the church.

Intergenerational Ministry. The pastor must be committed to reaching multiple generations and finding ways to reach out to all ages, utilizing the gifts, skills, and passions of the staff and lay leadership.

A Multi-Tasker. Is able to oversee multiple ministries and delegate responsibilities when/where needed and have the organizational skills to keep this running smoothly.

Strengths Summary

The Lead Pastor should excel in the following areas:

• Teaching/Preaching/Communication
• Theological/Biblical understanding and application – in keeping with the Wesleyan Church
• Worship service planning collaboration
• Leadership development and shepherding of the staff, board, and volunteers
• Vision casting and refining
• Collaborative work style
• Delegation, support, and encouragement
• Relational/relatability
•  A Shepherd’s heart for the congregation and community